I have a V3 and wonder: why don't you grind finer? That would slow the pull and hopefully extract more of the flavor. I wrestle with grinds as my Baratza Virtuoso is barely able to keep up, using a 0 setting. I borrowed a friend's OE Pharos grinder (Titan burrs, etc) and was surprised what the Silvia can do with good grinds done more finely than my Baratza can accomplish.

I have to agree about the freshness of the beans, but I'm not as fanatical as some here. I used to by Lavaza and generally liked it. But the older the beans, the less taste and more acidity. I recently switched to small roaster in Wisconsin, and the taste is much better. Now that could be b/c roast is w/in 5 days of arrival, or because beans are just better tasting (and more expensive!).

Ok .. First let me thank all the gurus out there are provided advice ... it was all good advice.

I am now pulling shots like a champ after doing the following:

- Upgraded to the La Marzocco Double Portafilter Basket ($7)- Got the new flat screen kit from pidsilvia.com ($20)- Replaced the grinder with Baratza (my old grinder was not grinding fine at a setting of "4" ... and I could not choke it out even at a setting of "1"). Baratza had amazing support.

And of course ... some really fresh locally roasted coffee (as you all suggested).Got some great stuff from Dilworth Coffee here in town and from Counter Culture Coffee upstate.

I am now using only about 14-16g of coffee for a double shot ... and I don't have to tamp very hard.Getting wonderful results and superb crema ...

Thanks to everyone who responded ... just a fantastic set of advice.And hopefully this thread will help out other newbies like myself.

Excellent.This thread WOULD help other noobs, IF they would take 5 minutes and use the SEARCH function.Thanks for keeping an open mind. You'd be surprised how many new folks (and some experienced folks) don't.I learn something nearly every day here, on HB, etc.

Ok .. First let me thank all the gurus out there are provided advice ... it was all good advice.

I am now pulling shots like a champ after doing the following:

- Upgraded to the La Marzocco Double Portafilter Basket ($7)- Got the new flat screen kit from pidsilvia.com ($20)- Replaced the grinder with Baratza (my old grinder was not grinding fine at a setting of "4" ... and I could not choke it out even at a setting of "1"). Baratza had amazing support.

And of course ... some really fresh locally roasted coffee (as you all suggested).Got some great stuff from Dilworth Coffee here in town and from Counter Culture Coffee upstate.

I am now using only about 14-16g of coffee for a double shot ... and I don't have to tamp very hard.Getting wonderful results and superb crema ...

Thanks to everyone who responded ... just a fantastic set of advice.And hopefully this thread will help out other newbies like myself.

I'm glad to hear everything worked out. The essential ingredient it seems is fresh beans.

But I still have a mystery of my own related to this topic. I can use the SAME identical ground (ground from a sealed bag of beans, unknown roast date) on my brand new Rocket Cellini and my old Saeco Veneto and actually get plenty more crema on my old little Saeco. Why is this?

But I still have a mystery of my own related to this topic. I can use the SAME identical ground (ground from a sealed bag of beans, unknown roast date) on my brand new Rocket Cellini and my old Saeco Veneto and actually get plenty more crema on my old little Saeco. Why is this?

Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post

Forum Rules:No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards.No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum.No SEO style postings will be tolerated. SEO related posts will result in immediate ban from CoffeeGeek.No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum.Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards.Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics.Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies.Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies.Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts.Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.